Tips to keep your child’s joints and muscles strong

According to studies, the estimated prevalence of JIA is around 48/100,000 among Indian children! An interesting fact is that girls are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than boys at most ag
Representational image
Representational image

BENGALURU: Children are inclined to get infections. Therefore, fever, painful joints, rashes, and fatigue can be mistaken as signs of infection or overexertion. Parents also might think of swollen or painful joints in children as a result of injury during a game, or so-called growing pains.

Do you know that these simple signs can be due to Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA)? Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis in children is the most widely recognised arthritis. It is also one of the most common chronic diseases that affect toddlers to children below 16 years.

According to studies, the estimated prevalence of JIA is around 48/100,000 among Indian children! An interesting fact is that girls are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than boys at most ages.

Symptoms

It is important to know when it is urgent to obtain advice about joint pain. If a child has the following joint pain issues, they must be treated as “warning signs” and urgent consultation and proper assessment are required.

Joint swelling: The child may report pain; may have joint swelling/ warmth across the joints.

Morning stiffness: It is difficult for a child to move in the early morning hours when he/she wakes up. It gets better as the day passes.

Joint pain with skin rashes: These need urgent evaluation. This may be due to a simple viral fever or occasionally due to an underlying disease affecting blood vessels (called ‘vasculitis’ in medical terms).

Fever with joint pain: Fever and joint pain may be caused by a viral infection (dengue/chikungunya). However, it may sometimes be due to a sinister underlying disease (blood cancer).

Loss of weight or poor appetite: Children can also develop rheumatoid arthritis in the same way as adults. We call it juvenile arthritis. These kids complain of joint pain and have one or more joints that swell. Pain in the morning hours is worse.

It is important to note that parents frequently seek an orthopaedic opinion on such issues, though there is no orthopaedic problem in fact.

Tips to keep your child’s joints and muscles strong

Vitamins and minerals-rich food: Diet must include fresh fruits and vegetables. For those who consume a nonvegetarian diet, fish liver oil is a good source of vitamins required for bone health. Let your child consume them daily.

Drink plenty of water: It is good to have 1-2 litres of water every day. Further, this helps in proper digestion and limits constipation; thus water is crucial for healthy living.

30 min walk/jog daily for a minimum of 5 days/week. Developing healthy habits in the daily routines from
childhood will help keep your child fit for years.

(The writer is consultant - paediatric immunology
and rheumatology, Aster CMI Hospital)

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